Waiting for a Tribunal Can Run the Clock Out on Your Claim. Why to Put It in Writing Now

A building owner in Victoria has just learned that lodging a claim on time is not always the same as making it in time. In Cavey v Owners Corporation PS 719168C & Ors [2026] VSC 667, the Supreme Court of Victoria found that an owners corporation had missed a ten-year deadline to pursue a builder’s director, even though it had applied to add him to the case before that deadline passed. The problem was the queue: the tribunal did not actually decide the application until months after the clock had run out. If you are chasing money or a repair through any Australian tribunal, that decision carries a warning you can act on today.

The short version is this. A deadline on a claim is fixed, but a tribunal hearing date is not something you control, and the gap between the two is where claims die. Claim Done drafts the letter of demand and the tribunal application that get a claim moving straight away, from a flat fee, so nothing sits waiting on a to-do list. You can start a document now and have the first formal step ready today.

What the court actually decided

The facts are worth following because they are so ordinary. The owners corporation had started its VCAT case over building defects back in December 2019. The occupancy permit for the building had been issued on 17 April 2015. Under section 134 of the Building Act 1993 (Vic), a building action “cannot be brought more than 10 years after the date of issue of the occupancy permit”, so the long-stop deadline fell on 16 April 2025.

Wanting to add the builder’s director to the claim, the owners corporation filed its application to join him on 26 June 2024, comfortably before the deadline. Then listing delays took over. VCAT did not hear the joinder application until 2 July 2025, and did not make the order until 17 December 2025, backdating the joinder to June 2024.

The Supreme Court held that VCAT cannot backdate its orders that way, and that a building action is “brought” against a newly joined party when the tribunal makes the order joining them, not when the application is filed. On that reasoning the action against the director was brought in December 2025, well after the April 2025 deadline, and it was dismissed. Section 134 also applies “despite anything to the contrary in the Limitation of Actions Act or in any other Act or law”, and the tribunal had no power to stretch it.

The decision is a single judgment and some practitioners are already arguing it is too strict, so it may not be the last word. You can read a plain summary in this Barry Nilsson analysis of the ruling. Its warning to lawyers is blunt: filing before the deadline is no longer enough, because the tribunal has to hear and decide the application before the limitation period expires as well.

Why this matters even if you have never been near VCAT

Every money claim has a time limit, and the limit depends on the kind of claim and the state or territory you are in. Unpaid invoices, building defects, bond and tenancy disputes, consumer refunds and broken contracts each run on their own clock, and some of those clocks are short. That ten-year building long-stop is a Victorian rule that will not apply to most readers, but the principle behind it is national. Miss the deadline for your type of claim and a tribunal usually cannot help you, however strong the case, however clearly you were in the right.

The Cavey decision adds a second trap that is easy to miss. It is not only your own delay that can cost you the deadline. The tribunal’s own backlog can eat the time you thought you had, and a slow listing is not treated as someone else’s fault that buys you extra time. The lesson for anyone with a dispute is to count backwards from the deadline and give the system room to be slow.

Tribunals are slow, and that delay is yours to plan around

VCAT says on its own website that building and construction matters take about 52 weeks from applying to the hearing, and it acknowledges it is “working hard to reduce the backlog”. A year, in other words, between lodging and being heard, before anyone has decided anything.

Run that against a fixed deadline and the maths is sobering. If a hearing is roughly a year away from the day you apply, a claim lodged even ten months before a deadline may never be heard in time. A safe margin is not a few weeks of breathing room. It is well over a year. Treat any looming time limit as if the real cut-off is twelve months earlier than the date on the calendar, and you will usually be giving yourself enough room.

Other tribunals carry their own queues and their own time limits. The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal and the bodies in the other states each set deadlines by claim type, and those deadlines change. Check the time limit for your specific claim on the tribunal’s own page before you rely on it, and check the current VCAT guidance on how long a case takes if you are in Victoria.

The one thing you fully control is starting early

You cannot make a tribunal move faster. You can start sooner, and start properly. Two documents do most of the early work and both can be ready the same day.

A letter of demand is the first formal step. It sets out what is owed or what must be fixed, gives a clear deadline to respond, and puts the other side on notice that a tribunal is the next move. Many disputes settle at this stage because the other side would rather pay than be dragged before a tribunal, and a demand that is dated and specific also becomes useful evidence if the matter does go further. Claim Done drafts a letter of demand for a flat A$49.

A tribunal application is the document you lodge yourself when a demand is ignored. Having it drafted and ready means the day you decide to proceed is the day it goes in, not weeks later once you have worked out which form, which division and what to write. Claim Done prepares a tribunal application for A$97, built from your answers and your evidence. You lodge it with the tribunal; Claim Done does not lodge or serve anything for you, so you stay in control of the timing.

Putting it in writing with Claim Done

Claim Done turns your side of a dispute into a ready-to-send document in minutes. You answer a few plain questions about what happened, who owes what and what you want, and the engine drafts the letter or application in proper form. You read it, change anything that is not right, and approve it. Only then is it sent to you by email, ready to post or lodge. Nothing goes out without your say-so.

The cost is a flat fee with no subscription and no lawyer’s retainer: A$49 for a letter of demand, A$97 for a tribunal application, with the full list on the pricing page. Claim Done is not a law firm. It generates legal-style documents from the information you provide, which is what most routine money disputes actually need to get moving.

If you have a dispute with a deadline anywhere on the horizon, the worst thing you can do is wait for a quiet moment that never comes. Start the document today, get the demand out, and have the application sitting ready so the tribunal’s queue is working for you instead of against you. Start your document on Claim Done and take the first step while the time is still yours.

Frequently asked questions

Does filing a claim before the deadline stop the clock?

Not always. In the Cavey decision the Supreme Court of Victoria treated a building action as "brought" against a joined party only when the tribunal made the order joining them, not when the application was filed. Because the tribunal did not decide the application until after the ten-year deadline, the claim was out of time. The safest approach is to allow plenty of time for a tribunal to hear and decide a claim, not just to lodge it.

How long do I actually have to take a claim to a tribunal?

It depends on the type of claim and the state or territory you are in, and the limits change. There is no single national deadline. Check the time limit that applies to your specific claim on the relevant tribunal's own website before you rely on it, and count backwards from that date with room to spare.

How long does a tribunal case take to be heard?

It varies by tribunal and by claim type. VCAT states on its website that building and construction matters take about 52 weeks from applying to the hearing. Other tribunals have their own queues. Treat a hearing as potentially a year or more away when you are planning around a deadline.

What should I send before I apply to a tribunal?

A letter of demand is the usual first step. It states what is owed or must be fixed, sets a deadline to respond, and puts the other side on notice. Many disputes settle at that point, and the dated letter becomes useful evidence if the matter proceeds. Claim Done drafts a letter of demand for a flat A$49.

Does Claim Done lodge the application for me?

No. Claim Done drafts the document from your answers and evidence, you review and approve it, and it is then sent to you by email. You lodge it with the tribunal yourself, so you control the timing. Claim Done is not a law firm.